‘Planet’ orbits Earth for Sony

Animated pic bows on terra firma Nov. 20.

Taking marketing to new heights, Sony’s “Planet 51″ made the flight to the International Space Station with the crew of the Discovery on Aug. 28.

The ISS crew snapped this shot of the film orbiting a couple hundred miles above Earth. The astronauts, once they can take a break from their busy schedules, will hold the, uh, universal premiere of the pic, produced by HandMade Films and Spanish animation shingle Ilion.

NASA gave its blessing to the animated feature after HandMade Films’ senior VP Joshua Ravetch, who already had a relationship with folks at the Kennedy Space Center, traveled to Florida and went over the script with officials there.

The space crew loved it and allowed the film to put the NASA name on astronaut Chuck’s (Dwayne Johnson) uniform — causing the animators to go back and re-do the logo throughout the film. But what they got was worth it — an official, and rare, endorsement from the space agency and a partnership that includes a sweepstakes with the top prize being a trip to the Kennedy Space Center.